Protection and Management Plan for the Millbrook Marsh Nature Center
Wetland Wildlife
Wetlands support an amazing variety of wildlife species, with amphibians and reptiles heavily dependent, and many species of birds and mammals also making use o~ wetlands for feeding and breeding. Wetlands offer habitat for waterfowl and other waterbirds, such as herons, shorebirds, and kingfishers. Many migratory and resident bird species have been observed in and around Millbrook Marsh, including songbirds and raptors, especially those that eat insects and fish. Some are truly wetland dependent or obligate species, while the majority are not wetland specialists, but generalists. There are 70 species of endangered and threatened birds in the United States. Of these, 31% are wetland species (Rymon, 1989, p. 196). In Pennsylvania, 48% of all special concern species are associated with wetlands, and 40% of them are wetland specific (Clark and Klein, 1986, p. 211). Of the 11 species of turtles found in Pennsylvania, 10 of them occur in a wetland habitat at some stage in life (McCoy, 1989, p. 177). There are also about six obligate wetland species of mammals in Pennsylvania, including the northern water shrew, star-nosed mole, muskrat, mink, beaver, and otter (Kirkland and Serfass 1989). In addition, Pennsylvania has 11 bat species, all of which benefit from the concentration of flying insects over water and wetlands.
|
American crow |
Corvus brachyrhynchos |
|
American goldfinch |
Carduelis tristis |
|
American kestrel |
Falco sparverius |
|
American redstart |
Setophaga ruticilla |
|
American robin |
Turdus migratorius |
|
Barn swallow |
Hirundo rustica |
|
Belted kingfisher |
Ceryle alcyon |
|
Black capped chickadee |
Parus atricapillus |
|
Blue jay |
Cyanocitta cristata |
|
Brown-headed cowbird |
Molothrus ater |
|
Cedar waxwing |
Bombycilla cedrorum |
|
Chipping sparrow |
Spizella passerina |
|
Common grackle |
Quiscalus major |
|
Common snipe |
Gallinago gallinago |
|
Common yellowthroat |
Geothlypis trichas |
|
Coopers hawk |
Accipiter cooperii |
|
Dark-eyed junco |
Junco hyemalis |
|
Downy Woodpecker |
Picoides pubescens |
|
Eastern bluebird |
Sialia sialis |
|
Eastern kingbird |
Tyrannus tyrannus |
|
Eastern phoebe |
Sayornis phoebe |
|
European starling |
Sturnus vulgaris |
|
Field sparrow |
Spizea pusilla |
59
|
Gray catbird |
Dumetella carolinensis |
|
Great blue heron |
Ardea herodias |
|
Green heron |
Butorides striatus |
|
House finch |
Carpodacus mixicanus |
|
House sparrow |
Passer domesticus |
|
House wren |
Troglodytes aedon |
|
Indigo bunting |
Passerina cyanea |
|
Killdeer |
Charadrius vociferous |
|
Lincoln’s sparrow |
Melospiza lincolini |
|
Mallard |
Anas platyrhynchos |
|
Mourning dove |
Zenaida macroura |
|
Northern cardinal |
Cardinalis cardinalis |
|
Northern flicker |
Colaptes auratus |
|
Northern mockingbird |
Mimus polyglottos |
|
Red-winged blackbird |
Agelaius phoeniceus |
|
Red eyed vireo |
Vireo olivaceus |
|
Red-tailed hawk |
Buteo jamaicensis |
|
Rock dove |
Columba livia |
|
Sharp-shinned hawk |
Accipiter striatus |
|
Son sparrow |
Melosopiza melodia |
|
Swam sparrow |
Melospiza georgiana |
|
Tree sparrow |
Spizella arborea |
|
Tree swallow |
Tachycineta bicolor |
|
Tufted titmouse |
Parus bicolor |
|
Warbling vireo |
Vireo gilvus |
|
White throated s arrow |
Zonotrichia albicolis |
|
Willow flycatcher |
Empidonax traillii |
|
Wood duck |
Aix sponsa |
|
Yellow warbler |
Dendroica petechia |
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Table 12. A list of 6 species of amphibians and reptiles observed from 1993-1998 in Millbrook Marsh.*
Table 13. A list of 13 species or sign of mammals observed from 1993-1998 in Millbrook Marsh.
|
Beaver |
Castor canadensis |
|
Deer mouse |
Peromyscus maniculatus* |
|
Eastern cottontail |
Syvilagus f]oridanus |
|
Eastern gray squirrel |
Sciurus carolinensis |
|
Meadow vole |
Microtus pennsylvanicus* |
|
Mink |
Mustela vision |
|
Muskrat |
Ondatra zibethicus |
|
Raccoon |
Procyon lotor |
|
Short-tailed shrew |
Blarina brevicauda* |
|
Star-nosed mole |
Condylura cristata |
|
White-footed mouse |
Peromyscus leucopus* |
|
White-tailed deer |
Odocoileus virginianus |
|
Woodchuck |
Marmota monax |
* Small mammals live trapped in 1993 in Millbrook Marsh by Urban (1993).